S S Chandran passes away

The 69-year-old succumbed to heart attack after he had participated in a public meeting in a nearby village. He is survived by wife Rajam and children Rohit, Rangaraj and Kanmani.

Condoling the death of Chandran, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa said that Chandran was received with warmth by the public wherever he visited. Further, he has been exposing the DMK’s misdeeds in a language that could be understood by laymen.

She said his death was a big loss to the party as well as the film industry.

Jayalalithaa visited Chandran’s house and paid her last respects.

Chandran took part in a public meeting in Idumbavanam on October 8 and then travelled to Mannargudi,where he was due to speak at a meeting on Saturday. He had complained of chest pain around 12.30 am shortly after moving to a lodge in Mannargudi, and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

He was pronounced brought dead.

The body was then brought to his residence in Saligramam in Chennai in the early hours of Saturday.

The final rites held on Sunday.

A noted comedian, character artiste and villain, Chandran had acted in more than 800 films, and has been doing a TV show Vaanga Pesalam. His noted films include Uzhaippaali, My Dear Marthandan, Mappillai, Raja Chinna Roja, Paati Sollai Thattaadhey, Vetri Vizha, Thiruda Thiruda and Palaivana Rojakkal.

Chandran had also produced two films, Engal Kural, Oru Murai Sollividu.

Chandran was in the DMK for many years and joined the MDMK.

Later, he joined the AIADMK and became a star speaker of the party. Political rivals DMK targeted him for his fiery speeches and there were a couple of cases filed against him.

Despite the opposition, he continued to work for the party and he was made deputy propaganda secretary of the party. Chandran served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2001-07